The bank portion of last months bank reconciliation for Blossom Ltd. at February 28 was as follows:

BLOSSOM LTD. Bank Reconciliation February 28
Cash balance per bank			$17,961
Add: Deposits in transit			3,132
			21,093
Less: Outstanding cheques
#3451			$1,965
#3470			2,140
Reconciled cash balance			$16,988

The reconciled cash balance per bank agreed with the reconciled cash balance per books after the bank reconciliation at February 28. The March bank statement showed the following:

BLOSSOM LTD. Bank Statement March 31
Date			Description		Amounts Deducted from Account (Debits)		Amounts Added to Account (Credits)		Balance
Feb.	28		Opening balance						17,961
Mar.	1		Cheque, No. 3451		1,965				15,996
	1		Deposit				3,132		19,128
	2		Cheque, No. 3470		2,140				16,988
	4		Deposit				1,960		18,948
	9		Cheque, No. 3471		1,694				17,254
	10		Returned chequeNSF, J. Mustafa		876				16,378
	10		NSF fee		35				16,343
	15		EFT, loan payment		1,226				15,117
	19		Cheque, No. 3472		1,943				13,174
	26		Deposit				3,251		16,425
	31		EFT, collection on account from
			M. Boudreault				610		17,035
	31		Bank service charges and credit card fees		89				16,946

Blossoms cash receipts and payments for the month of March showed the following:

Cash Receipts					Cash Payments
Date			Amount		Date			Number		Amount
Mar.	4		$1,960		Mar.	7		3471		$1,694
	26		3,251			15		3472		1,493
	31		3,974			29		3473		4,938
			$9,185							$8,125

Additional information:
1.		The EFT loan payment should have been recorded by the company on March 15, but this entry was missed. The payment included $84 of interest and a $1,142 payment on the loan principal.
2.		The bank made an error processing cheque #3472.
3.		The EFT collection from M. Boudreault was not previously recorded.
4.		Bank service charges and debit and credit card processing fees totalling $89 were not previously recorded.

(a)

Calculate the cash balance per books at March 31, prior to reconciliation.

Caash balance per books at March 31

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